The Maw of the Tigrex
by DaLucaray
Summary: A multigenerational story following the life of a guild Monster Hunters. Combat, relationships, comedy, horror, I plan to have a little bit of everything! Check for updates every Monday.
1. Prologue

316 ADC, 22nd Day of the Eighth Moon, Bherna Gathering Hall

Axle sat in the gathering hall, alone with Magician. He slowly, meticulously wiped hot wyvern blood and shards of thick scale off of his glaive. Another day, another Deviljho. He was a tall man, by no means wide but there was muscle and tone underneath his armor. He wore his hair chin length, dark browns mixing with a few locks of dull gray. His eyes were glazed over slightly, like they always are outside of the hunt. Sunken, and dull. Around him was the inescapable din of hunters drinking, eating, and talking in between hunts. Axle himself had a large tankard the Guild Gals would periodically come and fill up with ale to be drained slowly as the hunter kept working. The insect on his shoulder would buzz periodically, and he'd give it a strip of brute wyvern meat caught on one of the corners of his weapon whenever he found one. Next to him was a small plate of cured meats, but it was currently untouched. He was a man who had given everything to the hunt.

"Hey, uh, are you Axle?" A young girl's voice pulled him from his stupor. He gave her a quick glance- she was wearing beginner's hunting gear, with a shield made of dull stone strapped to her arm and an equally dull looking blade on her back.

"Sorry, I don't carry." He turned back to his weapon. Magician meowed.

"So, are you or are you not Axle, the legendary hunter, leader of the Maw of the Tigrex?" She continued.

"Yea, I'm Axle. I don't know what you heard about the Maw, but that stopped before you were born, kid." Something about her set off bells in Axle's mind, memories cresting the horizon.

"Axle, my name is Aloise of Kaisser." She put a hand on his and pulled in close. Her eyes were clouded, not opaque but getting there, and her skin was almost copper in color. She smelled like his old home. He froze. "Axle, I'm your daughter."

With that, the floodgates were opened. Feelings that had been dulled by time and distance returned stronger than ever. Holding that woman in his arms, falling asleep to her gentle snoring, the smell of a fresh cooked meal, and she was a hunting partner like no other. But with the pleasure came pain. Yelling. Crying. An infant, eyes not even open, bawling at the noise. He remembered being there, outside of a locked door, confident in his choice.

But with the brute force of a man who'd slain dragons he choked it down. Caught it in his throat and swallowed it whole.

Still, she looked just like her mother.

"Hello… daughterrrr…"


	2. Chapter 1

316 ADC, 22nd Day of the Eighth Moon, Jurassic Frontier

Axle took a sip of mead. "Aim for the head." He lazily gestured at the feathered beast flailing before him.

"I AM AIMING FOR THE HEAD!" Aloise yelled, her voice as scratchy as her face. She had been fighting the great maccao for ten minutes and the creature was almost unharmed.

"Dodge." Axle said plainly.

"What are you-" Aloise's question was interrupted by a kick to the face. She was flung across the room, tumbling onto the ground next to Axle. "You're a terrible teacher."

Axle took a long, slow sip of his honey wine, finishing the tankard. "I don't have to do this." Aloise groaned.

The bird wyvern didn't pause for conversation. It was on top of Aloise in moments, kicking and flailing. She held her shield precariously between her and the creature, its kicks glancing off the stone. With concerted effort she pushed the shield against its pelvis, knocking it off of her and onto the ground.

"Nice." Axle's support was genuine but subdued. Aloise was not amused. She hastily got her sword and shield reequipped and leapt back into the fray.

Alose bashed the maccao's head with her shield, hearing a snap as it cracked the great raptor's skull. She followed up with a slash that used her momentum, making a gash in her opponent's face. The great maccao stepped back, stunned, and Aloise repositioned herself for counterattack.

"You've got the form down." Axle said calmly.

"Hell yeah I do!" Aloise spat, keeping her eye on the beast as it lurched forward. She rolled sideways and gave it a swipe. "Uncle Frank taught me everything he knew about the sword and shield."

"Frank, huh? That cat couldn't use a sword and shield if his furry life depended on it." The maccao vaulted backwards and positioned itself on its splayed tail, legs primed forward.

"He studied my mother's use of it for years." Aloise ran forward and shouldered the monster, knocking it off balance and giving her room to strike.

"Yeah, Frank and your mom were pretty damn close." The maccao flipped itself onto its feet and flung itself headfirst at Aloise. She ducked to the side.

"Yeah, he was like a father to me." Aloise squatted down and leapt forward, vaulting herself into the air. She ran her blade through the creature's hide as she leapt, spraying vitae into the air. She landed on the over side of the beast with a roll, turning at the ready as it screamed in pain.

"What do you say to that, old man?" Aloise huffed with a grin. The beast snorted and pawed the ground, its feather crest raising to attention where it once held sleek.

"I say dodge."

"Again with the-" Punch. The maccao smacked Aloise with its hard fists, sending her head twisting sideways and her stance into a tissy. It doubled back, unrelenting, as the hunter hesitated in pain and surprise. It flicked it head and knocked her into the air, screaming and hissing and huffing and pawing at the ground as it bound forward with rage and menace in its eyes, hitting Aloise in the chest with its forelimbs again and again. It swatted her sideways and she skidded across the room. She tried to get up. The monster did not let her. It flailed forward, legs flying through the air, and kicked what scant wind the girl had out of her and it just kept screaming and screaming.

"I think she's in trouble." Magician said. Axle did not respond. "She's your daughter. You should-" with a grunt Axle hefted himself up and grabbed the glaive sitting beside him. He roared a challenge at the beast.

The maccao stopped it's onslaught of the broken girl and turned to look at this new threat. It cocked its head to the side and snorted. With a sudden screech it flailed forward.

Axle vaulted effortlessly off his glaive and onto the maccao, holding his weapon in one hand and the scruff of the bird wyvern's neck in the other. It kicked and bucked but he held fast, driving the glaive repeatedly into its side. After some time he kicked off, a deadpan look on his face, and knocked the monster to the ground. With a twirl and a spin he slashed its face repeatedly, then drove the glaive into the creature's skull, killing it instantly.

Aloise got to her feet shakily.

"That should have been easy." Axle sheathed his glaive with an almost identical twirl.

"I'm new, okay? Cut me a break!" Aloise's voice was hoarse and cracking. Axle snorted and turned back, starting the walk to the pickup point.

It would be a long, silent ride back.


	3. Chapter 2

316 ADC, 28th Day of the Eighth Moon, Arctic Ridge

Aloise stared down the massive tusked beast before her. It slowly pawed the ground, thick white hair billowing in the wind. The bulldrome was immense, with a head as big as Aloise herself. Granted, its body wasn't much bigger.

It charged.

Aloise ducked to the side, timed perfectly with the boar's charge. She slashed at its flank as it tried to turn around, then ran to the side to prepare for its next attack.

It charged again.

"MRROW!" Before the beast could hit Aloise it ran tuskfirst into a felyne that had popped out of the ground. The cat tumbled towards her but skidded to a halt before getting too close.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Aloise dropped her sword and ran to the cat. He was a light brown tabby with a fluffy tail and apparently only one eye- he was wearing an eyepatch.

"Are you Aloise of Kaisser?" The cat asked in a confoundingly deep voice.

"I...yes, I am, why?" Aloise was horrified. What did he need from her that was this urgent?

"I am here to protect you."

"What?"

Wham!

The bulldrome charged through both of them, sending Aloise spinning through the snow and the mysterious cat into the air.

To Aloise's surprise the cat pulled out a sword from, evidently, nowhere, and dove down, driving it into the creature's spine. Vitae sprayed out and the bulldrome shuddered.

The felyne landed gracefully and turned around in time to leap back over the now charging bulldrome and pull its sword from the beast, reopening the wounds and causing another burst of red. The monster toppled over, kicking and writing. Its assailant sheathed his weapon and walked back to Aloise.

"I was sent by your family. My name is Caesar." He said calmly.

"Why won't anyone just let me- wait, Caesar? You wouldn't be Frank's dad, would you? I thought you were, like, a pirate." Come to think of it, he was wearing what looked like naval gear...

"A pirate? I am a seabound mercenary like my father before me and his father before him. I'm disappointed in my son for bringing such slander to the family craft. 'Pirate', honestly." The cat scoffed.

"Yeah okay that's great, but uh, the bulldrome is getting up, and I don't know if either of us can take another hit."

"Well then get your sword! You are a hunter, aren't you?" Aloise wasn't paying attention. She grabbed Caesar and rolled to the side, getting them both out of the path of the oncoming boar.

"Yeah, about that… I dropped it. To check on you." She grinned sheepishly.

"You did what?" Caesar snapped. "Well then go get it! Where is it?" Aloise pointed to the other side of the large mountain outcropping they were battling on. Notably, there was a bulldrome preparing to charge in front of it.

"Eheh…" Aloise gave an awkward laugh.

"Alright. I'll distract the beast, you arm yourself." Caesar drew his sword, and turned to face his opponent. It was too late. The beast had once again charged, this time knocking Aloise forward and off of the snowy cliff.

"Aloise!" Caesar screamed, reaching a paw out to catch her. Last the hunter saw of him he was preparing a counterattack.

…

Aloise tumbled down the mountainside, trying to gain her balance. She grasped at the rock face, dragging ice and rock down with her and slowing her descent. Her shoes, covered in cloth covered in metal, dug in as well, and she finally found herself holding precariously onto raw, cold rock.

She looked up. The distance from here to the edge of the cliff was daunting, but undoubtedly less than the way from here down. She didn't dare check, though.

She grit her teeth. There was only one way out.

Shield on her arm, Aloise hefted herself foot by foot up rock she was not meant to climb on. Small chunks of ice and debris periodically rained down, no doubt from the fight above.

Each step was a gamble, each handhold a possibility to tumble to the ground. Huffing and shivering she pulled herself up the rock face and onto the cliff.

Caesar was still battling the monster, leaping and slashing around it. The bulldrome twisted and kicked, landing few blows. Aloise walked up to it. The bulldrome paused to consider such a fearless approach from such a small creature. This was all she needed.

"I am Aloise!" She took her shield off her arm. "Daughter of Elotta of Kaisser!" She drove the sharp of it onto the beast's head. "And Axle, Hunter of Moga!" She struck again, cleanly chopping off a tusk. "I can hunt!" This time she hit the nose, tearing most of it off. It dangled off the creature's face, leaking vitae. "I can survive!" Something yielded. "And you! Will stop! Interrupting me! While! I'm! Talking!" She huffed and wheezed, dropping the shield and staring at the shredded, pulpy mess attached to a bulldrome body.

"Are you done." Caesar coolly inquired.

"Yeah, I'm done." Aloise sighed. "I needed a bulldrome head for my armor…"

"Well, waste not want not." Caeser shrugged. The two got to carving.

…

Back at the gathering hall, Caesar sat next to Aloise, looking up at her as she tore through a pork steak.

"Why are you still here?" She asked, losing some meat in the process.

"I told you, I'm here to protect you on your hunt."

Aloise gulped down her cartoonishly large mouthful. "I don't need help. I would have been fine if you didn't distract me,"

"Well your mother has me in a contract for the next year, so like it or not I'm your palico." Caesar said, some frustration leaching through his calm demeanor. Aloise groaned childishly.

"I'm 16, I can take care of myself. The Guild recognizes me as an adult."

"Yes and according to The Guild I am your employee and hunting companion." Aloise paused, looking at Caesar frustrated, before going back to her pork.

"So wait," Aloise evidently never learned not to talk with her mouth full, "This all is contracted? It's not, like, family work?"

"Well if you wanted my usual services I'd be happy to help family. But being a full time palico? That's far more than a mere favor. I don't usually hunt the same game as you."

"Alright." Aloise thought for a moment. "Then what do you hunt?" She asked genuinely. Caesar looked surprised.

"...small monsters."

"Oh, okay." Aloise seemed content with that answer. She got back to her meal. "You want some?" She gestured to Caesar a large cut on a fork. The cat took it.

"Yes, master." Caesar said with a smile. Aloise sighed as her new palico dug in.


	4. Chapter 3

294 ADC, 7th Day of the Third Moon, Val Habar Gathering Hall

The hall was stuffy with people, and Axle felt terrified. His hand going to his master's old pendant, he eyed the room nervously. He hadn't seen this many people in ages. There were hunters wearing strange, exotic armor, and waitresses, Guild Gals, weaving through the room with drinks and meals in their hands. His heavy lance and tower shield made his wary walk all the more awkward, and he couldn't find the quest counter. He twirled his shoulder length, deep brown hair. Maybe he should ask someone…

"Excuse me, sir..." Axle tapped the shoulder of a knowledgeable looking fellow. "Can you-"

"I don't carry." The hunter snorted and turned back to his friends, continuing the tale of the plesioth that was _this big_! (Even though the guild forgot to write it down). Axle blinked in confusion.

"You feel lost." Axle heard a kind, feminine voice behind him. "I mean, look lost." There stood a girl in what appeared to be jaggi armor with a matching set of dual blades. She had long brown hair and skin like copper. Most startlingly, her eyes were clouded over, like they were filled with fog. She waved her hand in front of his face. Had he been staring?

"...Hi." He said slowly.

"Hi. I'm a psychic!" The girl said cheerily. Axle wondered if she could read his mind. "Oh, willikers, I should start with my name. I'm Elotta of Kaisser! I was born and raised in Val Habar, I know this place like… uh… like…" She seemed stumped. "Anyway, have a seat!"

"Can you read my mind?" Axle asked with shock. Elotta seemed shocked and a bit saddened.

"Oh, you don't want… okay." She turned to leave.

"No, it's okay! Sit down!"

"Uh, okay." Elotta pulled a chair up to the small, empty table with Axle.

"So, uh… you're psychic?" Axle asked.

"Yeah, it's a family curse." Elotta said, embarrassed.

"That doesn't sound like a curse."

"Well, it… it comes with blindness. No woman in my family over 25 can see. I can...I can see, but it's fuzzy. I'm losing it."

"Oh. That's bad."

"Yeah. And it gets stronger with age. Right now I can just… feel the, uh, presence of a mind. But soon I'll be able to read emotions and if I get really old even thoughts. And it doesn't turn off."

"That… oh."

"That's bad." Elotta finished his sentence.

"Yeah." The two sat awkwardly, Axle trying to avoid her unfocused gaze. "So, uh, who are you?" Elotta asked.

"I'm Axle."

"Where are you from, Axle?"

"I was a hunter for Moga Village."

"Moga? Never heard of it."

"Yeah, it's a little fishing village." Axle seemed reluctant.

"Oh, I think the fishmonger's sister is from there!" Elotta smiled. "Moga, huh? She talked about this great bowgunner. Wait, is that you?"

"No, that was my master."

"Oh." The conversation stopped short. "So, uh, wanna talk about him?"

"Not really. He was a good mentor." Axle shrugged.

"Oh." She paused. "Wanna meet Frank?"

"Your Palico, I presume?" Axle asked.

"Yer gah damn right." Frank answered. The cat had weaved and pushed his way through the busy Hall to get to his master's table. "The name's Frank."

"Yeah, I know." Axle said flatly.

"He's, uh, got character, but he's saved my ass plenty of times. And I've saved his." Elotta smiled. "A hunter isn't complete without a Palico." Axle snorted.

"I don't have one."

"Oh." Elotta paused. "Have you ever hunted a kecha wacha?"

"Ketchup whatta?"

"Yes."

"...No."

"Well there's a quest lined up, let's do it before someone else gets to it!" Elotta grabbed Axle's arm and pulled him to the quest counter. Axle made a mental note of its location.

"Two hunters for the kecha quest!" Elotta said excitedly. Axle wasn't entirely sure what was happening.

"That'll be a 200 zenny fee." Axle started fishing through his wallet. Elotta slammed a bag of coins onto the counter.

"I'll pay. Let's go!" She ran to the takeoff point, giddy and grinning. Axle and Frank slogged behind her.

"You seem excited." Axle mumbled.

"Sorry. It's just… this is the first time I'm doing a quest with someone else! I can't wait!"

Elotta waited as the airship drifted lazily over the horizon.

"I don't get it, the steppes are only an hour's run away, why do we have to take a blimp?" Elotta complained, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Because the blimp ride is a half hour and because its Guild regulation." Frank answered.

"Hm." Elotta pouted. She had no response to that. "What do you think, Axle?"

"Hm?" Axle looked up. His mind seemed to be on something else.

"What do you think about the airship travel?" Elotta repeated.

"Oh, don't bring Alex into this." Frank rolled his eyes.

"It's nice. I guess." Axle didn't look at Elotta. She sighed. How long was this going to take?

Finally the blimp touched down. The hunters stepped out, welcoming the stable ground.

Axle bent over, searching for large animal tracks.

"This would be easier if I knew what a kechup wechup was." He grumbled. Elotta took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"What… what is she doing?" Axle stood up, confused.

"She's a psychic, remember? She can detect minds. Right now she's finding the kecha wacha." Frank raised an expository paw.

"Wow, that's crazy." Axle said.

"Yeah. It requires immense concentration now, but one day-" Frank was interrupted by a mysterious kick to the back of the head.

"Please," Elotta said through gritted teeth, "shut _up_." She sighed. "It's close, about five talons southwest of here. Follow me, I know the way."

The trio took off.

"So, uh, what is a weshy keshy?" Axle finally asked.

"Arboreal fanged beast. Part of the same family as congas and blangos." Elotta answered. A monkey, Axle thought.

Elotta stopped, putting a cautionary hand on Axle. "It's here."

Axle looked frantically around. He saw they were on the edge of the forest, where the speckles of sunlight reaching through an autumn canopy met the warm glow of an open plain. What he did not see was a monster.

Elotta pushed him backwards. He tumbled to the ground as a massive orange blur slammed itself into the earth in front of him, facing away. It was lithe but powerful, possessing a beauty and elegance that the fanged beasts he knew lacked.

What was most striking was the claws, though. Its forelimbs, he could see, were extended by an absolutely massive hooked claw, battered and scratched by however many years of use, but still strong. This monster was terrifyingly impressive, and Axle thought "kecha wacha" was a pretty dumb name for something this cool.

Until it turned to face him.

Its face was really fucking weird.

It had massive, furry triangular ears that ended in brown tufts, and a nose that melded with its lip to form a thin trunk extending only a small bit from the face. And did he see tusks?

Most bizarre, though, was the expression. It had an excited, giddy, silly look on its face. Its eyes were green and blue, and popped out of its face like berries, and it wore a goofy grin on its massive face.

This all took about two seconds to register in Axle's head, and he extended his lance.

The kecha wasted no time, swinging its massive claw effortlessly at Axle. He threw his tower shield in front of the strike, using the force to hop backwards. He peered out from behind the shield to stab at the kecha.

What he saw was Elotta, spinning and dancing like a bladed top. Her blades, each rather simple in design and power, were like extensions of her arm- like the kecha wacha's own claws!

Claws which struck Axle, sending him and his arms tumbling to the side. He had been distracted! Why was he distracted? He was not in a good place of mind.

Axle steadied himself.

Stab. Stab. Hop back. Stab. Move. Block. Block. Axle let the flow of the hunt take over him- his brain routed sight and sound directly into his muscle memory, completely ignoring the realm of conscious thought. Occasionally a thought would trickle through, mostly of the show Elotta was putting on. He refocused. Stab. Stab. Block. Hop. Stab. Stab.

Unfortunately muscle memory is only so much help when you're fighting something you've never seen before. The kecha vaulted backwards. Gaining distance from the three hunters, it spread its arms wide. From its sides each unfurled a massive flap of skin, a sort of pseudo-wing. It flapped its arms and lifted off into the air.

Axle froze. This neural rerouting had left no room to deal with such an unexpected sight. This titanic creature, with a forearm alone that was larger than Axle, had achieved powered flight with nothing more than a membrane with as much surface area as its torso. Nothing in his muscle memory could account for this.

"Get down!" Elotta's yell pierced through his brain fog and tore Axle into the realm of thought. Before he could react, though, Elotta tackled him to the ground and held him tight to the ground as the kecha swooped down and dug its jagged claws where Axle was moments ago.

Elotta hefted herself off Axle. "You could've gotten seriously hurt!" she said, her voice carrying nothing but concern.

"What the fuck just happened?" Axle finally managed to spit out.

"It can fly," Frank mewed from across the clearing.

"Well I know that now!" Axle yelled as he pulled his lance back out. The kecha tugged at its claws, which had been lodged into the ground by its assault. The earth shook. A lot.

"Y'know, that's a lot of tremors for-" Frank was in the middle of musing when the earth beneath him split forth. A massive reptilian head atop a long, muscular neck tore through the ground, coming inches from swallowing Frank whole. Scaly paws, tipped with wicked sharp claws and leading into leathery wings split the earth on either side of the poor cat, and soon the creature had fully ripped itself from the musty soil. It was almost twice as long as the kecha wacha, but had a hunched over posture that brought its face low to the ground and barely hid layers over layers of pulsating musculature.

"Tigrex!" Axle yelled.

With unthinkable ferocity the creature pounced on the now panicking kecha wacha, tearing through hide and wing as the poor beast scrabbled to get away. The wyvern's thick jaws found themselves on the kecha's neck, and with an echoing crunch the panicking stopped.

The tigrex paused, momentarily, standing almost protectively over its kill. In an instant its head swiveled to the side, locking eyes with Axle and Elotta.

For a few lingering seconds, the forest paused. Dappled sunlight shifted over the flying wyvern's striped hide as wind, high in the treetops, rustled canopy leaves.

The creature lunged.

Axle held his ground, weighed down too much by his armaments to move. The tigrex knocked him three feet backwards and kept charging. Where was Elotta?

A spinning set of blades emerged from beneath the creature's powerful posture, spraying red fluid like they were popping tomatoes. She was like an elegant demon, her foggy eyes almost glowing with the blades' potent blood magic. And then the tigrex spun.

It started with a clench, the arms and legs retracting ever so slightly. Axle recognized the monster's tell. Elotta did not. She was knocked aside, her blood magic cut off and her groove lost. With a painful thud she hit a nearby rock. Axle gasped, despite himself.

The tigrex tore its way towards Elotta, wasting no time closing the distance between it and the hunter. She scrabbled to escape, but the flying wyvern was too fast. She was gripped in its massive forelimb and pawed backwards, apparently a victim of the monsters zealous frenzy. She began to get to her feet, shakily, as the tigrex violently and angrily changed its momentum.

Axle made an executive decision, if not a smart one. With his lance and shield on him there was no way he could possibly get to Elotta in time. The tigrex was closing in, and he doubted Frank was in any state to save his master. Axle tossed aside his weapons and ran towards the monster, screaming. He let his muscle memory do the work for him- the calculation of where exactly the monster would be when they converged. At the point Axle predicted, about a half ton of tiger tyrannosaur face met with the force of one hunter's fist.

Elotta's eyes struggled to readjust, as they always did. She saw the tigrex- it had miraculously missed her- and she saw Axle. But he didn't have his weapon! Why? He was… screaming, And waving. He was saying something, but Elotta couldn't hear anything but the blood pumping in her ears. The tigrex had stopped. She read in its mind curiosity and confusion. She felt it had fear, if only an inkling of it. She decided to ignore what Axle was thinking. Suddenly, and much to her surprise, the tigrex turned tail and left, leaving the tattered kecha wacha corpse and very confused Elotta. She got to her feet, shakily, and put a hand on Axle.

"Hey, uh… thanks for that." She managed to get out.

"No proble-" Axle then proceeded to violently throw up and pass out in Elotta's arms.

"Well then."


	5. Chapter 4

316 ADC, 17th Day of the Ninth Moon, Bherna Gathering Hall

"What do you think about this, Axle?" Aloise slapped her sword and shield on the table to get the old man's attention. "Full bulldrome armor. I made it myself. Killed six of 'em for it." She proudly displayed her fur bikini to Axle, barbarian horns and all.

"I think you should cover yourself up more." He replied, peering past his massive pork loin.

"That's the most fatherly thing you've ever told me." Aloise said grimly.

"No, I mean, you're gonna get hurt. That's terrible armor."'

"It raises my power. Magi-"

"Magical enchantments. Essence of the monster contained in the armor. I know how this works, I'm saying that's a poor choice of armor." Axle took a swig of his mead. Aloise humphed.

"That's my choice to make."

"So, this is the guy?" Axle heard a gruff voice from under the table. He peered over. It was an old felyne, gray in the whiskers and wearing a dumb pirate getup. "Are you the Hunter of Moga Village?"

"Yes, I am." Axle seemed taken aback. He hadn't received recognition in a while.

"Twenty eight years ago you saved my ship, my life, and my newborn son from a massive lagiacrus. However belated it is, you have my gratitude." The little pirate cat got on his knees. Axle was impressed by how deep his voice was, but then he paused.

"Twenty eight years ago, I wasn't the Hunter of Moga." Axle took a slow, long drink of mead. "That was my master."

"Oh." Caesar paused. "Well tell him he has the gratitude of an old sea cat." Axle snorted.

"So, Axle, are you finally willing to hunt with me?" Aloise asked with confidence. Axle looked her up and down slowly before turning back to his meal.

"If you can solo a malfestio, I'll let you in."

"Ha! I'll finally join the Maw- what's a malfestio?" Aloise asked with less confidence. Axle motioned over a waitress.

"Hey guild gal, is that two star malfestio quest still up?" He asked, his mouth full of honey glazed bullfango.

"Yes, it's still up there. No one wants to take it…" She laughed sheepishly.

"Great. This young woman and I will be taking it." Axle casually gestured to Aloise.

"I'll prepare the airship." The waitress bowed and headed off, still carrying a tray of calamari. Aloise heard someone wail in the distance.

"So the cat's coming with us?" Axle asked, staring off the edge of the blimp.

"I have a name, young man." Caesar harrumphed. Axle turned to look at him and narrowed his eyes.

"Why are we taking the blimp?" Aloise grumbled. "The jungle is just downhill from Bherna."

"Say!" Axle seemed to have come to a realization. "Caesar! You're not Frank's dad, are you?"

"I have achievements beyond unprotected sex thirty years ago, but yes, I am Francisco's father."

"Wait, his name's Francisco!?" Aloise sat bolt upright.

"So that means you're a bounty hunter, right? Like, you kill people for money." Axle posited.

"That's a very crude way of putting it, but yes."

"Wait, what!?" Aloise was even more confused. "You're joking, right?"

"I told you, I'm a seafaring mercenary. What did you think I did?" Caesar looked back at Aloise, finally acknowledging her.

"I thought you were, like, a pirate…" Aloise stammered as her understanding of the world collapsed around her.

"No, I'm an assassin, like my father before me, and his father, and so on. It's the Aurore family business. Francisco hated it, though. Said he'd use his killing skills for good." Caesar chuckled. "How did that turn out for him?"

"He… he's helping my mom manage a large trade caravan." Aloise said, gathering herself together. Axle chuffed.

"Well, it's good to hear my son is doing well." With Caesar's reply the blimp touched down on the jungle below.

"Good luck with the bird." Axle stood up and headed to the guild-standard base camp.

"You're not going to help me?" Aloise stammered.

"Of course not. It's a test. For you." He dug through the guild's chest, pulling out some dried insects and threw them at Aloise. "Bitterbugs. Take them. You'll know when to use 'em." Aloise caught them, delicate enough not to crush them, and pondered them for a moment.

"...Do I-"

"Yes, you eat them."

Aloise stared at the bugs for another moment before slowly placing them in her bag and running off.

Aloise stared intently at the bird before her. She'd faced monsters bigger and scarier than this. It was an owl-looking creature, about one and a half times her height, with floppy horn-looking things on its head. The thing looked almost like a jester. It hadn't been giving her much trouble, but she couldn't lose the nagging thought that there was a catch- Axle had used this as a test for her. There had to be something more to it.

"This thing hasn't been giving us much trouble, but the boy's using it as a test. There has to be something more to it." Caesar said, blocking a wing strike from the malfestio.

"Thank you, Caesar." Aloise grumbled.

"You're welcome!" Caesar struck a counterattack. The owl's head snapped backwards with a shrill hoot. The duo paused. More than one hunt had ended this way…

Slowly, the bird wyvern's head propped itself into upright position. Its horns, once pale and fleshy, were now red and standing erect.

"How oddly phallic." Caesar mumbled to himself.

"Also, it looks kinda like a penis." Aloise added helpfully.

"Thank you, Aloise."

"You're welcome?"

The malfestio screamed, stunning the two hunters for a moment, and charged at Aloise. Its neck feathers, which Aloise just now noticed were orange, fluffed up, and with a midaid twist the bird wyvern knocked Aloise backwards and coated her in the orange powder.

Her eyes swole over and itched like her eyelids were stuffed with hay, and she hacked violently. She spun around, knowing rebound attack was due, whether she could see or not. Thud! The malfestio swooped down from… behind her? What was going on? She forced open her eyes, despite the fuzzy agitation, and tried to get a grip on her surroundings.

She did not get a grip on her surroundings.

The jungle, once lush with greens and blues, was an unnatural shade of orange. Shadows were illuminated in backwards whites, and the sunlight cast eerie dark blue rays. She could hear the malfestio all around her, she could see its silhouette in the trees and the branches and the forest and the trees and the lake and the sky and the great big insect towering above her like a tower of insect above her towering, and her throat itched all okay like with the sandpaper ale like silent waterfalls eating away unfortuante malfestio there! There! It was over there! Her malfatherio angrily hooting in flowery disgust unhappily mad and angrily upset with a bitterbug in his hand.

Bitterbug.

Bitterbug.

She would know when to use it.

Now is when to use it.

Right pocket.

Left pocket.

Bag.

Bag. Satchel. Vines growing at the angry malsatchelio with the-

No.

Bitterbug.

She pulled from her hunting bag the small, dry insect. It had a pale blue sheen to it, not that she could see it, and bit down.

Turns out bitterbugs are pretty bitter.

Aloise scanned her surroundings. The forest was green. The sun was shining. And the malfestio was still very, very angry. She had a bug in her mouth.

Aloise spit out the bug and charged at the malfestio, sword drawn.

She got a faceful of orange powder.

Axle stared over the horizon, his kinsect crawling over his shoulder. He wondered offhandedly how his daughter was doing. She hadn't fallen in battle yet, else she would have been carted back for medical treatment. But it was taking an awful long time.

Up floating in the air was the Guild Blimp. He knew that on the blimp were Guild workers, watching impartially as Aloise put her life on the line. If her vitus ran out they'd swoop in and cart her away, and if she slayed the malfestio they'd gather the corpse and ferry her and Axle back to Bherna.

Without warning the blimp began to descend.

She had done it.

Axle stood up and stretched, readying his slightly aching body for some motion.

"She did it, lil' buddy!" He patted his arginesse on the chitinous shell. It clicked, pleased.

Axle inhaled deeply and started running towards the blimp. He heard Aloise laughing in the distance.

"I did it!" She wheezed, standing over the owl's broken corpse. "I killed- wheeze- I killed the malfestio!" Her eyes were red and watering, and her breathing was labored.

"Congratulations." Axle said cooly. "You beat a two star monster." Aloise laughed hoarsely, like it was less because of joy and more due to stress and tiredness.

"I killed the malfestio!"

"Axle, I suspect Aloise is allergic to malfestio." Caesar said.

"Everyone hallucinates to malfestio feathers." Axle responded with some frustration. "That's why people hate fighting it."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Caesar responded, equally frustrated.

"This dusty old- wheeze- cat tried to make me stop! But I didn't! I fought this thing until-" Aloise paused.

"Until what?" Axle asked. He never got an answer, as Aloise proceeded to throw up and fall unconscious onto the ground.

Axle stared at her for a moment.

"Yeah, I think you're right."


End file.
